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Thank you for replying -pawsalmighty . Hugs to you. I certainly do want to stop the rot before it takes me back to where I was. I cannot afford to go back. Life is so much harder to live when you feel trapped inside your own body. Even the basics like taking a shower or walking around to do the grocery shop was confronting every single day. Even now, here it is winter. I have never experienced such cold. I need to wear gloves over my hands but I would rather this than sweating on a mild day plas all the other garbage that comes with it. I have stopped focusing of protein and switched to chocolate but I need to do better. I like the fact that I have more strength where before I could only walk part three houses and I was done. My weight has been a life long issue. Richard Simmons passed away recently. I remember working out to his album in the 80's. I played the songs and my body remembered the exercises. I am not new to this game but the struggle continues. I suppose that is a little aside. What do you mean about genetic testing? How does this help to find the right anti depressant? Sounds so much better that the p'doc trying the hit and miss method with medications. Have many people found it to be helpful? I really do need to find a new way to set small goals. Not sure what they are yet. But I am going to see my doctor tomorrow. Hmmmm, Wish me luck.

Hello all, I had my first negative comment yesterday from a member of my partner's family. I was talking about my surgery (as someone else in their family had also had WLS), and this individual spoke up and said to me: "ah, you don't have the will power to do it yourself then?". I was just a bit taken aback if I am honest. I had to correct her (not that I have to justify myself to anyone), in saying that I had exhausted all my options, and other conditions I have mean that WLS is the only way for me. I know we shouldn't take things that others say to heart, but I can just predict that this is going to be the mindset of most people who do not understand what it is like to be obese, and to struggle every day. How have some of you dealt with comments such as these?

Hello everyone! I see that the mid-month surgeries will be starting, some as of today! I'm am a week and a day post-op and have to say - I'm SO tired of being on a liquid diet and am absolutely counting down to this next Monday when I get to start purees. I'm telling myself I'm excited about purees, anyway - but I think I'm more looking forward to being able to have intake that isn't 'room temperature'. I've struggled to enjoy my pudding (sugar free, made with protein shake) because while cold it starts out nice and thick but as it begins to warm it gets slimy and watery I had things I wanted to respond to from the many posts I've just caught up on and by golly I'm going to try to tag multiples in this post and see if it works! *Please* forgive me if this is long; I'm a writer (unpublished but working on it - fantasy for anyone curious - so overwriting tends to be my worst tendency!) To start with, since I think this will affect pretty much everyone - I had an amazing revelation a couple of days ago that made PERFECT sense. Colace / Docusate is a stool softener, NOT a laxative! A friend of mine is a research junkie about medications (I am about almost everything BUT that) and shared a video to me of a Pharmacist talking about the absurd cost for Docusate / Colace considering what it IS. Miralax and Senna are laxatives, all Colace / Docusate does it provide lubrication to your stools so they will be easier to pass. I'm pretty irritated about this, honestly, because whileI can see the purpose of Colace/Docusate if you're severely constipated it won't actually get things 'Moving'! Literally >. I can attest to this being true because during my liquid diet the only times I had stools were when I took Senna - (obv check with your doctor/pharmacist, but seriously this helped me SO much because post-op I was again at 5 days without a stool, took some Senna, and bam.) To @AndreaJD and @Singingbarista , our Multi-care Clinic twinsies - How's it going?! This is your week!! I'm so excited for you both and hope your surgeries go great. You've both been wonderfully helpful and insightful in all the support you've offered and I'm eager to hear from you on the other side of the adventure! @AndreaJD - I just love your attitude SO much. Yes; we are certainly in a marathon for the next few months and NOT a sprint! I'm also rethinking my approach to food and looking forward to exploring new recipes. I find myself reading and re-reading my dietary instructions. I get a bit overly excited for my family's meals, savoring the smells and almost a bit resentful when they are NOT excited about the variety of foods that are available to them to eat. My fella says he wishes I'd stop vicariously trying to 'eat' through him - and I told him that's just tough, lol. I'm going to keep right on suggesting all of the available items like a waitress at a diner selling the food until I can eat a better variety myself! To @Justarwaxx and @Mandalynne- Today is your day!! I have you both in my thoughts and hope everything goes well for you! @Justarwaxx - Welcome to the forum, I'm so glad you joined us! @Mandalynne - Oh I'm SO glad to hear that my mentioning the Finch app helped someone! I'm rather ND myself (in case you couldn't tell from my rambling responses lol) and for me, Finch has been almost as life-changing as this surgery. Everything always felt overwhelming and scattered, with me constantly struggling to 'get on track' with endless efforts of organizational methods, then I would slide right back 'off track' for however long. My friend code on there is YJAMJAC79Y if you want to add my to your 'Tree Friends' lol - no offense taken if you don't! I can't believe they said only ONE day in the hospital for your surgery?! Surely they will keep you longer than THAT - it's pretty invasive! Please give us an update once you're situated and feel up to doing so! Also, I'm SO with you on enjoying the smells of food cooking! I keep looking at some blueberries and strawberries that are sitting in the fridge and literally pushing my Mom and fella to enjoy a popsicle for me, lol. I can't WAIT until I'm off this room temperature everything!! Update: I'm so sorry your surgery date was postponed! Hey there @draikaina8503 - Greetings, fellow nerd-friend! Your response about playing D+D & WoW resonated with me! I, too, am a gamer and nerd! ❤️ I have tried so many times to revisit WoW but it just is NOT the same now that I don't have all of my old friends and guildies from the 2007-2015 era around I have played WoW since 2004 on and off, and now have somewhat given up and just play Sims4. I love being able to create story and be immersed in my gaming, and always felt guilty to move into the territory of roleplaying storyline with folks when I never knew how long I'd 'stick around' on a given revisit to the game. But here you are, only *two days* away from your surgery! I hope that everything goes smoothly for you and that they aren't stingy with the pain relief. Ice packs have been SO helpful for me, as I previously stated, and making yourself get up and walk as soon as possible will help alleviate the gas pain. I had them get me a fresh ice pack each time before I went walking and would hold it pressed to my surgical area while pushing the stupid IV pole with my other hand. Remember, too, it's the act of walking and NOT the speed! You'll almost certainly feel the burps start to rise up and the relief that comes with that is as Shoppgirl said - it feels like a rainbow after a storm once the tooting and burps begin. Also; I appreciate you sharing that you're going through this as an individual with Au/ADHD; I'm on a wait list right now for testing and your mention reminded me that I need to follow up on that! As a result of my opening the different pages of this thread in different tabs I feel SO much more able to handle making a response all in one go like this! For anyone having trouble tagging you have to do the @ symbol, then start typing the name of the person you want to tag with a capitol letter. It will bring up a list at that point and the more letters you type the shorter that list of names will get - you can then tap on the right name (or click, if you're using a mouse - hope this helps!) I actually just noticed by combing through that @Pepper_No_Salt is also an 8/16 surgery ! You and @draikaina8503 are indeed surgery twins, just like you said! I bet you're starting to *really* feel it now! Or did they not get you scheduled back for the same day? I am SO glad that you got that issue corrected - I was mad on your behalf when I saw that it was cancelled! Hello and welcome, @Farhad , and congratulations on your surgery! Which one did you have, if I missed it, and how are you doing? I hope your pain is being managed well and that are having a good recovery. It sure is wild how quickly we fatigue now, isn't it? I learned around days 5-7 post-op that standing and doing anything that requires movement side to side causes me a lot more tenderness than when I slowly walk forward for the same amount of time, and couldn't for the life of me understand why. I guess it just makes a difference on how the incisions are pulled or tugged. I've got staples that I sure HOPE they take out Thursday because I'm SO tired of them pulling and feeling weird as a rough surface on my skin. To @Onemealplan - Thanks for your post and all of your great reminders that this journey will be very individualized experiences. We can see similarities but I've also definitely noticed how varied some of the doctor's orders for pre and post-op are. I was feeling jealous of @ShoppGirl for her ice chips, but then again she ALSO had a much longer pre-op diet than I did and we both were going in for a SADI surgery. My doctor ordered me to start with the vitamins as soon as I got home from the hospital, and I was here worrying about how I didn't re-start my calcium until yesterday because even though I ordered Bariatric calcium because it was STILL three big pills, so I reordered a chewable and it just got here yesterday. I will say the chewy Fusion style Calcium ones are tasty and felt like a brief reintroduction to flavor town, lol. I also appreciate what you said about the difference between physical and mental hunger - that's 100% true for me. The 'idea' of food sounding nice to me I've been treating as a craving for flavor, and I've taken to trying to sate that with different flavors of water beverages and a rare sugar free candy like a jolly rancher. I don't know if I'm supposed to allow myself those or not, but so far thankfully haven't had any negative consequences for having the occasional one. The visit to flavor town is certainly a welcome break from this shake monotony. Welcome and congratulations to you @Greekmom4! I'm taking the Prilosec as well and am right along with you, today I am 8 days post-op. Have you been experiencing nausea still? I'm not sure if it's due to my type of surgery but I've not had much nausea in a while, thankfully. Granted, I am trying super hard to alternate sipping water/sugar free Gatorade/Propel every 15 minutes and a bit of a 30g Protein shake every 15 minutes most of the time when I'm not napping - which seems I can never really do, because whenever I go to get flat or semi-flat I feel the settling in my chest of burps that will only come up if I sit upright fully and/or walk. I have been fortunate (I guess??) to be able to meet my protein goals for the past several days; the 30g Protein drinks are SUPER filling and feel a little heavy, especially felt very heavy at first. Finally - to @ShoppGirl - I was rereading and realized that of COURSE your journey was different than mine, not only because we have pre-surgery differences but also because they took out your Gallbladder as well! I'm so glad you're starting to get some relief due to the burping and such. I agree, the post-surgery bowel movement made a world of difference. See also above where I discussed learning the difference between the Colace and Senna/Miralax! You're a go-getter, that's for sure! I personally wouldn't recommend vacuuming today even though I know you're SO eager to get back to being productive. You may have already done it lol - I wouldn't be surprised! Thanks for the reminder to get up and move; I took longer writing this big response post than I should have and even though I have my ice pack in my lap I know I'm way overdue to get up and move around a bit. I enjoy you your sterile strips, I've got a total of 12 staples and they tug and pull obnoxiously, plus I can feel where my body is trying to push them out and HATE it. Thursday can't come soon enough!! Wishing you the best and so thankful for your continued interactions and support

You want to do whatever possible now before regain happens. Go back to the basics. Make sure you are eating high protein, low carb! Use a calorie counter for a few days and see what you are generally taking in. I had a bypass in August of 2002. I ended up at one point due to mental health struggles going back to eating badly and regained about 100lbs, not all I had lost but most. One day I had just had it and changed my diet and did walking daily until I could power walk and complete 5k at a time which was huge for me. I haven't medically been able to work or go on walks this summer and I miss it. It helps my mental wellbeing to be out in nature with my favorite tunes. Setting small goals helps me the best. Then I feel good when I can meet them and am encouraged to make a new one. Virtual 5k programs really motivate me. Find what motivates you! I'm sorry you are struggling with bad depression. I've been there until I did a genetic test and found only 1 antidepressants works for me after decades of trying new ones, some obscure one was the winner. I feel so much better and way less SI. I don't know if this is allowed but you are welcome to add me somewhere if you would be interested. My heart goes out to you. I'm very non judgemental and open minded! I hope you have the best day you can! -pawsalmighty

I love MyProtein for powders. For shakes, I also like Ufit, Grenade and For Goodness Shakes. I hate protein bars. I've never found a good one.

Easy answer: Fairlife Core! I compared ingredients, taste (tastes exactly like milk ..chocolate milk or your choice) and credibility (Premier has/had a lawsuit over exaggerating their protein content) which helped me make my choice easier. Lastly, Fairlife is milk, not chemicals. My only complaint is Fairlife has high phthalates. I take this into consideration along with their product life cycle sustainable local farming practices and for now I over look the phthalates as they're in so many things in plastic containers. Eventually I'm hoping this will be corrected or I'll try and find something else. Just remember if you continue to drink Fairlife, it contains either 26 or 42grams of calcium.. If you go with the 42 grams..its almost an entire days calcium serving so take that into consideration when you start taking your daily supplements! FL is harder to find and more expensive as others have said, I have mine on subscribe and save on Amazon or if you keep it in your cart or saved cart you will see when the price drops and buy it then. Its cheaper this way. I've seen price fluctuations as much as $15..so shop around! I was drinking the 42grams which makes it soooo much easier to get your protein in but its also more expensive which is why I went with the 26grams. If you're having difficulty reaching your goal in the early stages, do as I did and start with the 42 then drop down to the 26! **My doctor gave me a great indicator of hypercalcemia (high blood calcium levels) to be aware of; if you flick your face and it twitches = too much Ca. Also, if you start getting eye twitches (tetany) cut back on Ca. Also, drink half each meal as our bodies can't absorb that much at once of both protein and calcium.

JennyBeez you wrote; " grieve the convenience of high fat/sugar/calorie foods. The ability to go anywhere with friends or family for a meal and not have to worry about 'will I be able to find something I can eat?' and cruising the menu online first." Hi, I'm blonde patriot living in CDA, and I have a problem. I'm a social eater..." This is the hardest for me. I am already sick of doing the menu scans beforehand. It quickly made me realize that 99.9% of the food at restaurants is a no go due to being fried, made with sugar or extremely high in carbs and calories! Plus, if you're like I am, I detest cooking and eating out is what my husband, friends and family do - we enjoy, excuse me I use to and they still do enjoy food and the experience. It took all the joy out of get togethers for me. Plus most food I can eat tastes bland now. Now before anyone says "but you can still enjoy being with friends and family foods just a small part of that" <rolls eyes> they don't understand - it wasn't and isn't a small part of it. When we used to go out it was to eat, we'd share our choices, talk about the differences between this and that choice here and at other restaurants etc. It was one of the main reasons we got together! We had certain restaurants for celebrating birthdays, promotions, good semester grades and holidays etc. We had certain dishes - our favorites depending on what our activities for the day were. Now, I spend the first 15 mins examining the menu picking each thing apart ..does it have fat, too many calories, carbs, protein or hidden sugars will it even taste decent? Is it 300 calories or preferably less? After that I look longingly at others choices I actually want. Then comes the dreaded lets get an after dinner drink or coffee with dessert. So I get to watch that too from the sidelines. Even my husbands and my retirement has changed, we had a list of the places in the U.S. that were known for specialties such as a lobster rolls in Maine, black beans and rice in New Orleans, Philly cheese steaks in Philly, New York pizza etc., for our first year of retirement we were going to rent an RV and travel..visit those places based on our food choices and eat their specialties, they were our destinations. Then, after the first year my husband wanted to "belly up" to the shrimp and lobster bars on cruises for "days on end." Now all this has changed and I'm now resentful at myself and society. Myself because well becoming obese and society for being judgmental and valuing youth, beauty and being thin over the value of a persons worth inside! Yes, I'm thinner and healthier and most likely will live longer (no guarantees)... but...to be honest I don't want to take a walk instead of going to a restaurant as one person said and as my dietician suggests. They're NOT the same thing, one does not equal the other! No friend who wants to go out and about with the girls to shop and eat wants to substitute a walk instead. I DO know its my "new reality" and I do what I must, I'm just not happy about it. It feels as if a part of the joy has been removed, sucked out of life along with a portion of my stomach. Yes...I do try and find other things.. .but yeah well. Everything involved food, go to the beach pack a lunch (not two separate lunches one I can eat and the rest for everyone else), go shopping, go to the theater with dinner beforehand, go to the movies, go dancing - nope no alcohol or anything with calories oh joy - water!!!. Lol no one ever said hey girls lets do a girls day...and hit the gym where we can all sweat together, grunt and watch others pop veins struggling to lift a weight bar for fun! Even my poor husband has had to change, he used to be excited to bring some new food home he found at a new restaurant or even at the grocery store he'd want to share with me...nope not anymore. He just eats it before he gets home to save me and him the having to turn it down. So yes, I mourn not only the food, but the convenience, fun and get togethers. I have even noticed my friends don't call much anymore to "do" lunches because they'd always ask "where CAN you eat now"? The choices were limited or I'd have to ask the server for considerations..making it more work than fun. 300 calories or less is extremely hard to do at restaurants and my friends didn't want to put me through it anymore. So yes, I mourn. Sorry for the long whine/rant but Jenny geez brought it all up again for me.

Hi Possum220! I feel like you are very honest and courageous to ask for help because it’s the true first step. Yes, I have been seriously depressed before and yes I am mortified by regain. My last serious depression was way before WLS but I know that the longer it goes without help, the longer it stays. I’m going to suggest you start your healing journey there because it’s life threatening. Please continue to advocate for yourself and your health in that regard! As regards regain, I have had some success with “Glucose Goddess.” Look her up, she’s on all social media platforms. She is a scientist and mathematician who got into a serious accident and needed to heal herself. She cites all the medical papers that she has researched, peer reviewed, and published. You can by her book, but I’m just watching YouTube to get the basics right now. Eating veg, then protein, then carb has seriously slowed my hunger AND stopped the near daily dumping I was experiencing. I was never diabetic but I think the severe dumping syndrome of WLS was making me the equivalent. I swear getting my blood sugar under control has been a game changer. Many studies report lessening depression and less anxiety. It has helped me with asthma because it reduces inflammation. I have lost four pounds this week, and all I did was change the order of foods I eat. So, depression is like asthma, you need to treat it first. But the Glucose Goddess has practical applications that help with those problems and helps with weight loss too. (By the way, it has helped even though I’m on a new medication that has even more steroids too.) I’m wishing you the best! Keep up with therapy and finding a med that works:) You are not alone. Let us know how you’re doing and what you found that helps.

My bariatric team and GP both suggested it when I hit a three month stall and was becoming discouraged and angry. I was prescribed Ozempic and it broke my stall the first week! I've lost 10lbs in one month so my stall is over. I stuck to my "diet" plan the entire time so some might just say it was nothing more than my stall finally ending, who knows? I receive the compounded version with B12 and its $120.00 a month without using my insurance (I didn't want to go through the hassle of pre authorization). So, its a possible option for you. I've had no side effects as of yet, I'm starting on my second month with a higher dose so I can't speak on the head cadence beat of the drum to EAT yet, perhaps its diminished a bit and my hunger has quieted. Your best bet is talk to your doctor they'll know what's best for you and it can't hurt to ask. I hope this helps. Good luck!

Hi everyone! Hope those of you that have had your surgery or are having a great recovery and those are you that are waiting to have yours ready for your new journey! I will say it’s been a roller coaster of emotions after surgery . My best advice is do not compare yourself to others! We are all totally different on this journey and everyone will be different and that is from the amount of weight you lose all the way up to the foods that you can tolerate and what you can eat afterwards. My surgery Sisters and I have had different experiences. They were able to have their ice chips right after getting the clearance well as I was struggling to even have half a teaspoon of broth. I am now 11 days postop and I am still on basically a clear liquid diet . It’s not fun. It sucks. I’ve gone through being able to have protein and then my stomach doesn’t tolerate it. I’ve gone through yogurt and then my stomach can’t tolerate it. It’s changing its mind day by day lol. So I’ve been having to try various different things to see what works. For me currently my stomach likes either hot or cold . In this journey you’re pretty much learning from a whole different perspective who the new you is. It’s not been easy. It’s a huge challenge! I’ve also learned the difference between feeling hungry and being mentally hungry. I no longer feel hungry, but I crave food that I was once able to eat. Mainly a huge feeling of nostalgia. I understand that eventually I’ll be able to eat those foods and much smaller portions which is why I had the surgery to begin with, but that feeling is still there. And it is very important to understand the difference between that hunger and that mental hunger , especially in the journey that lies ahead. Some more vices, make sure you take your medication as the doctor prescribes. When I drink anything, I feel a pain in my chest and a pain in my left shoulder. My doctor says that this is normal. However, the big things to watch out for our fever, nausea, vomiting. Your body is going through a lot. I keep having to tell myself that. Don’t expect to pass a bowel movement for a while either . I’m currently taking MiraLAX to help me through it. I don’t expect to have one, especially just being on a liquid diet. My weight hasn’t changed for the past four days. Don’t be shocked at the fact that you’re not dropping like crazy. Like I said, it’s been a heavy journey, very emotional journey, but as always need to just keep my eye on the prize is what I tell myself . This is a journey, not race. Wishing you all a safe recovery and hoping those of you that are getting ready for this journey enjoy !

Hi all. I’m two days post-op. I came home yesterday. I’m not gonna lie…this is difficult. Navigating all of the medications they sent home, trying to walk every two hours, using the breathing spirometer, and trying to get enough liquid and protein is no joke. The core power shakes that I like are too thick and make me feel gross. I know this is temporary, but man I am not loving life right now. I never knew that room temperature water was such a turn-off for me, but it is. Oh well, thanks for the vent. I’ve gotta finish my broth and go on a walk. Good luck to everyone today.

Wow I can relate to this and I’m 12 days post op. I’ve had a pretty bad experience so far with this. To begin with after surgery I developed a very rash all over body from a allergic reaction to the substance they clean your body while in surgery. So I felt with that for a couple of days. Went to the ER twice because the itching was unbearable. I swear I regretted the surgery at this point. I agree the protein and water you need to get down with just sipping is freakin hard. I’m in full liquids and I am starving. Sorry for all the negativity but that’s just where it’s at right now. I still pray every day I will see some type of light. I know God has me. Praying for you as well!!!!

Never heard of protein gel supplements (energy ones without protein but not protein ones) but people do add unflavoured protein powders to broths (bone broths are best), cream soups, consommés, etc. As you progress you can add protein powders to any liquid or runny based food like yoghurt, instant rolled oats, decaf coffee, etc.

Depends on the type of smoothie. One you make yourself with protein powder, milk, yoghurt, a powdered flavour if you use plain yoghurt, a little allowed fruit & you control the ingredients - okay. But a purchased one I’d question. Check the nutritional value & ingredients of any you buy. I used to buy a yoghurt smoothie drink from the same company that made the high protein yoghurt I ate. The nutrient value was similar but with more protein (30+g) & more natural sugars (not added) from the milk added to the yoghurt to thin it to a drinkable consistency. Then I bought a different one but the added sugar content was so much higher & the protein content was very low. I used to buy them before I realised how easy it was make the yoghurt smoothie drink by simply blending the high protein yoghurt I liked with milk. What does your plan say? If it doesn’t say, check with your nutritionalist.

At 2 weeks, I was on things like avocado spread, cottage cheese, hummus, refried beans, softly scrambled eggs. I was also drinking ready made protein shakes because they count as fluids and protein. I also was drinking protein gatorade zero. I would just be careful with what you're eating and how much, because at 2 weeks out you're still healing.

--- It could be that a lot of people (like meeeee) may have been attributing symptoms to dumping syndrome when it was foamies, IBS, food intolerances, etc. But also just from a social-stats standpoint, people are more likely to complain about their bad times than come celebrate when things are just progressing normally/fine/ok. As for fruits, my personal experience would caution that as you're introducing new fruits to your diet, eat them with a protein you already know you tolerate well. The protein could help the fruit's sugars from just hitting your stomach straight up. And at first at least, maybe lean more towards fruits with good fibre content? I had a lot more luck with blueberries, raspberries and blackberries at first than other options. Even now, I can eat black cherries if they're mixed into some greek yogurt, but if I try to eat them on their own or with oatmeal it's just too much on my system (at this stage). (And just FYI: blueberries with natural peanut butter? So fricking satisfying. On it's own, or on a cracker / toast if you want that bit of crunch)

I believe in my heart I may be the only one doing this to myself...or even able to muster up the courage to talk publicly about it. I'm not getting my protein in. I'm not getting my water in. I haven't been taking my vitamins. I haven't been to the gym in over 2 weeks. I eat what I want, to the point of making myself puke with intolerable food. I gave up. I drink alcohol. I'm lazy. NO i'm not looking for pity, i'm genuinely curious to know if anyone else is or has been in my shoes.. I'm almost 5 months post-op, down 40+ pounds. Losing 1-2lbs per week SOMEHOW. If you've been here, how did you get out of this fog? I'm petrified to address this with my doctor in fear of being judged. I'm in the closet with all this. Scared/anxious i'll just regain my weight over the next year. I feel im in concrete and have ABSOLUTELY NO motivation to change habits very disappointed in myself. Disgusted really. Recently went to a gathering and seen myself in pictures and I am way bigger than i thought i was. im just all over the crazy table!

I took a nutrition online class at my community college 2 years after gastric bypass and I wished I had learned more sooner. Food blogs, peer support is great, but college courses hit differently. Knowledge from that class sparked a health and mental health change in me. It’s not about protein or what supplements are trendy, it’s about what your specific body is lacking and needing. I get routine labs done 2-3 times yearly, which is more than recommended. I quit seeing my bariatric surgeon and my medical doctor prescribes only what vitamins show up that are low or needing more. That changed the bariatric fatigue I’d get and I’ve never felt stronger/healthier. Getting another doctor on my care, continuing health education and following my blood work are all things I wished I done sooner.

My bites are about the amount given to a baby. I’ve learned(the hard way) to take very small bites and wait a minute before the next. Last night I was able to eat smoked chicken salad (homemade and pulverized with my Braun hand chopper) the amount that I ate was maybe 1/8th of a cup and 1 1/2 saltine crackers. Afterwards, I felt a little nausea so I think I had eaten too much. I’m leaning on my protein shakes a lot. Especially since it’s difficult to drink all the water I need. My fluid intake consists of water, shakes and popsicles. It’s hard to drink as much as I need at work due to the amount of calls that come in and the patient load. But, I’m down 25 lbs. and I feel good. My next hurdle is walking as I broke my tailbone about 3 weeks before my surgery. That’s a very difficult hurdle.

I am trying to clean and get organized pre op for my revision and I want to put all these protein shakes away. Well if you have a tony kitchen and tiny pantry like me, I want to put them on top of fridge but I bough the big ones of the flavors I knew I could give away if I don’t like to save some money but, they are going to be too hard for me to lift post surgery. I wish I had got the smaller packs for now. No biggie. Just have to stay on top of it and ask hubby to get them down individually but it would’ve been easier yo ask him to get down a 4 pack. in the whole scheme of things it’s pretty tiny but something to think about. And if you are by yourself I would probably take them out of package and put on counter ahead of time anyways.

so do you all just add protein powder unflavored to these?

@AndreaJD that actually sounds more like my LSD. There is this whole chart with portion sizes for different meals and there are a few more options but I don’t care for a lot of it. I have been doing the two shakes and a lean meat with one cup veggies for dinner and then I have the other 1/2 cup veggies and the fruit for snacks. I’m pretty board with it but at least I’m not starving. Do you think it matters if I do the meal for lunch and a shake for dinner? I am meeting a friend Saturday and I was bummed we can’t do lunch but I thought what if we go to outback and I do my shake for dinner. I can get a steak and veggies there. I just have to tell them no oil or anything. I may be torturing myself a little when I see and smell what she is having but I guess I gotta get used to it sometime. I think I have lost around 10 pounds. I didn’t think to weigh myself at home right before I started the diet but three days earlier I was 258 at the Dr. It seems like my home scale ran a little lower than his. I was 255 this morning on mine so I’m thinking that’s around 10 but I’m afraid to get too excited until that’s confirmed. i think I am back in a habit of doing all my vitamins now. I take the multi with my morning shake or proffee and then calcium at lunch and dinner. It takes a little longer to get moving in the morning because I sit and drink the shake right next to the multivitamin so I don’t forget but hopefully I won’t have to do that forever. I just finished a Walmart order for some more berries. I am eating so little that the others went bad before I could finish them. That’s okay I needed to add items to get to $35 so it helped me remember to get a small can of dry shampoo for the hospital bag and I need to pick up the nausea rx for the night before surgery anyways. I am also going to haul off some donations that have been collecting by the front door and I hope to finish the deep cleaning of my floors today. Fingers crossed that I don’t get dizzy again. I really would like to come home to a somewhat clean house after surgery. I know that it will be even harder to sit still and recover when I’m looking at all the things that need to get done. My husband is planning to finish some work on the bathroom while I’m in the hospital so we shall see if it’s still clean as I leave it 🤦‍♀️ Well, I guess it’s back to my never ending to do list. I hope everyone else is doing well and you all have a great day.

I’ll have to try those! Anything to help keep my protein up and calories down!

I wish I had taken some 'before' pictures so that I could see the great changes. I still don't think I see the real me in the mirror at times so wish I could look at how fat (I can now say that about myself 😄) I was pre-op. I did switch to decaf for the two weeks pre-op as read it online but the hospital were giving me (disgusting) coffee the day after the op and continued to offer it to me every day I was there but my tastebuds couldn't hack it so I went with herbal tea each time. Now, a year later, coffee is no problem and have it running through my veins. I also made a batch of liquid soups for the first week and froze them in 150ml containers so that I wouldn't have to worry about it, just needed to add protein powder at the time, plus I prepped the veg for a second batch of soup and froze them so it meant I just had to put them in the slow cooker with a stock cube, no standing around peeling, chopping etc.

Egg whites & eggs themselves are still giving me problems. (And chicken. I give one or the other a try every week or so but even two or three small bites induce foamies, no matter how slow I take it or what other foods I bite in between. Ooh, how did I forget pea protein existed? That sounds like a win already. The mashed up chickpeas was... an experience. It wasn't bad, but definitely left the oatmeal with a different taste that I wasn't fond of. This morning was oatmeal with raw sunflower seeds and some chunks of apple. It was delicious but heavy, and still more fat than I want so early in the morning. The brightside of the experiment was when I remembered (gasp!) that I don't have to eat classic breakfast foods for breakfast. I was looking at the portion of un-mashed chickpeas in my fridge this morning (after I already made my darned sunflower seed oatmeal) and finally had the fecking epiphany that I could just toast them up as is -- or as a patty -- and eat them seperately (or instead!) of my oatmeal, and it still wouldn't take much effort in the morning when I'm dragging my feet everywhere I go. Like. WTH. I knew this. I knew this when I was on purees. I had sweet potato with bone broth powder puree for an entire week back then. Why am I overcomplicating my life trying to solve problems that don't have to be problems at all. So, these surgery hormones, can I blame them for making me slower on the uptake or is my age finally catching up to me? XP